Gamepads

[Totems]

I'm thinking of buying a gamepad for my laptop to play X Rebirth. What gamepad is best to use? I' don't onw PS3 or other consoles and never will.

A second Questions: is it easyer to play with gamepads or best with mouse and keyboard?

Greets Sven

[Informer]

I have a microsoft "xbox" gamepad. I did use it in the beginning when i started X3Ap.
But know i only use keyboard and mouse. Fot X Rebirth I don't now, what I gonna use yet.
If you want to get a gamepad anyway, I would get the Xbox for windows gamepad. Works great.

[Ruiner]

Get a wired 360 controller, they work straight out of the box and it's probably the best gamepad ever made.

I'm not an MS fanboy, I own a PS3. But the 360 controller is a thing of beauty.

[itslikethis]

not sure if the link will work, copy and paste... i picked up an xbox 360 wireless controller to use for rebirth, came with the wireless usb hub thing. tried it with my copy of albion prelude, didnt much care for it... went back to track ball mouse and keyboard. with rebirth there will be a lot of radial menus so imo get a game pad, not necessarily the xbox one if you dislike the enigma known as microsoft.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Xbox-Wireless-Controller-Windows/dp/B004QRKWKQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1382460931&sr=8-2&keywords=xbox+360+wireless+controller+for+pc

[Ruiner]

Ursprungligen skrivet av scarywombat69:

not sure if the link will work, copy and paste... i picked up an xbox 360 wireless controller to use for rebirth, came with the wireless usb hub thing. tried it with my copy of albion prelude, didnt much care for it... went back to track ball mouse and keyboard. with rebirth there will be a lot of radial menus so imo get a game pad, not necessarily the xbox one if you dislike the enigma known as microsoft.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Xbox-Wireless-Controller-Windows/dp/B004QRKWKQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1382460931&sr=8-2&keywords=xbox+360+wireless+controller+for+pc

Microsoft Wireless Gaming Receiver. Corded is easier and you don't have to worry about charging it.

[itslikethis]

i can go into the equipment room at work and grab a bag full of batteries. shoot, i have at least 60 AA batts at my house already. they also have that rapid recharger pack thing. i hook my gaming laptop up to my surround receiver which runs it on my tv and sit it on an hd3 targus chill mat, then i play AP from the couch with wireless keyboard and wireless track ball. hence my inclination for the wireless capability (the optional TOOL blaring in the background also seems to add depth to the x universe)

[Totems]

thx alot all for the reaction. I bought me xbox 360 with cable. It should arrive tomorow so I'll test it out then. The reason why I went for the one with cable is indeed the hassle with batteries.
Will let ik know how it went.

[Tyrant]

I'd recommend either the xbox gamepad, or waiting for the new steam controller. The xbox one is widely supported and sort of an 'industry standard' when it comes to controllers. Though the Steam controller will have its advantages as well, like being able to function as a keyboard and mouse for games without explicit controller support.

[Totems]

as I said I bought the xbox 360 controller. First impression is quite nice. Still have some troubles with it but I have to get used to it. Playing TC and AP quite some time with keyboard and mouse so now with gamepad it's a bit different.

[Houdini]

The Xbox Controller is awesome, good choice going with the 'Wired' version. I have had a 360 for over 7 years and can say out of experience, the wireless option is nice but its just not worth in, thes cost to replace batteries ect is rediculous! Plus with a wired version it can just plug straight into your PC! For a wireless pad you would need a 'Wireless Receiver' to get it to connect to a PC which can be a pain! Playing any game from the X series thought would, in my opinion, be better with a mouse/keyboard but go with what YOUR comfortable with. I have several friends who play DayZ with a controller for example so just go with what suits you! : )

[Xander Tyrann]

i have a wireless version of the 360 controller and a usb cable that plugs into it that i use to charge it or when connecting to the pc. best of both worlds. i rarely use it with the pc though.

[MrButtermancer]

Mother of all that is holy don't even think about trying to play an X game on purely a controller. If you are to enjoy the freedom of movement through menus you absolutely need to play an X game at an enjoyable rate, you need to learn the deep hotkeys. We're talking the ctrl + shift + r sort of hotkeys you just completely ignore in every other game except maybe Starcraft if you're Master league. People say the learning curve of X games is vertical, and that IS the controls. They are not bad. They are complicated. You can do absolutely whatever you need to in seconds, provided you know the buttons to do it. You absolutely need to use a keyboard.

You can't even get away with basic-level fighter combat on a game pad. Here's a list of the things that could potentially benefit you in BASIC solo fighter combat you would need individual controls for (or button combos which become a fustercluck in a hurry on a controller):

Aim cursor (analog)
Thrust vector (analog)
Roll (2x button)
Strafe thrusters (4x button or analog)
Thrust adjust (5x button, min, max, up, down, and match speed with target)
Target Nearest/Next Target/Previous Target (3x button)
Targeting computer next setting manual/auto/full (1x button)
Target information (1x button)
Cargo bay menu (for ejecting goods if you are being extorted by pirates, or for dropping laser towers or drones, 1x button)
Fire weapon (1x button)
Fire missile (1x button)
Next missile/previous missile/next weapon set/previous weapon set (4x button)
Hail comm: (1x button)
Eject (1x button)
Jump drive menu (1x button)

Things you absolutely need outside of combat: SETA, docking computer, My Propery menu. There is probably a root menu to reach all of these options but being able to bring them up instantly saves so much time.

If you have turrets or squad mates you also need to access the menus for both. I'll add at this time that you would also have a considerably harder time acquiring targets with a joystick than a mouse cursor, though if things are REALLY chaotic target cycling on the hotkeys beats both. And the menus on a controller would be godawful. Some on X3 were huge, pagedown was seriously how you reached things like sector names (end and pageup being used for names at the far end of the alphabet). You can reach something like that in a few seconds on a keyboard, but it would take considerably longer on a controller. I can definitely imagine you dying in combat because you couldn't select a safe sector on your jumpdrive in time.

It seems ridiculous the amount of STUFF you need to do in combat, but as you learn the hotkeys and the controls and get better at combat it WILL come to you. You will begin to use "match speed with target" and the strafe thrusters to maneuver. You'll grow into the game. I HIGHLY recommend you use firstly the keyboard, secondly the mouse, and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ leave the controller in your desk drawer for any X title. Everything written here assumes some resemblance to the previous X titles, and given the footage that is NOT a leap. Even if some of these things have been removed, analogues are likely to exist, probably in sub menus. And menus are going to *hugely* favor the mouse and keyboard.

[[+3z]FUSE]

Xbox360 wired...best one for me!

[Leberwurst1234]

the hell nobody playing on joysticks nowadays ?

[Ruiner]

Ursprungligen skrivet av MrButtermancer:

Mother of all that is holy don't even think about trying to play an X game on purely a controller. If you are to enjoy the freedom of movement through menus you absolutely need to play an X game at an enjoyable rate, you need to learn the deep hotkeys.

Except that this is the X Rebirth forum. All of the keys for X3 are in my muscle memory, I couldn't tell you what half of them are, but if I need to do that certain thing, my body knows. With X Rebirth I'm debating whether or not to sit on the lounge with a controller or sit nearer to the TV with a keyboard/mouse. Mouse will win, it always does, but X Rebirth is going to be viable with a controller, all of the menus look to be radial.